PREP NOTES

He stands just 5-5. Weighs only 140 pounds. And he’s just a freshman.

But that didn’t stop 15-year-old Adam Roman of Laguna Hills from earning the starting free safety position last week against Mission Viejo, the county’s top-ranked team.

Roman, also a backup wide receiver, played sparingly for Laguna Hills in its first three games this year. He also played on the Hawk freshman team, which has its games on Thursdays.

But last Friday, he got an adult-sized dose of varsity football, making his first varsity start--against the mighty Diablos.

How’d he do? Well, he made the first two tackles of the game, Laguna Hills Coach Steve Bresnahan said, and all-in-all he seemed unafraid of the challenge and played a steady game.

(OK, so Mission Viejo routed Laguna Hills, 35-0. But a coach has to look on the bright side, right? Roman’s definitely on that side.)

“I can’t remember ever seeing a freshman start, and I’ve never even considered starting one in my career,” Bresnahan said. “I never even thought it would be a possibility.”